Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-01-26
NEW YORK SHIPPING.
NOTES ON THE COMMERCIAL MAG
NIFlCENCE OF THE METROPOLIS.

steamers Driving Out Sailing Graft.
WHY New York Has Always Been Our
Chief Seaport-Prior to ls00-HaIcyon
Times.
| see that about 900 foreign vessels ar
rived at the port of New York last year.
The total number of foreign and domestic
vessels that arrived here in 1856 is eSti-
mated at 30, 900 The Hebrew prophet,
Ezekiel breaks into ferV!d elOquCnCe in
celebrating the commercial splpndOr of the
great emporium of !, 800 years ago. Tyre,
with it, multitude of ships and its traffic
in gold, purple and ivory, the wine Of
IIehon. silver, CaSSia, white wool and
precious stone; but what was Tyre,
though il was II merchant Of the people
for many isles, and traded NTH Judah
and the land of Israel Arabia. Sheba and
the princes Of kcdar, cOmparri TO this
lion whrlp Of the western world. New
York
IIthcr comes the gold of Europe, the
or;um. coffee and precious gums Ot the
orient. the altar Of roses from Turhey. the
prrciuuS stones of fHr-oH mines, the fruits
uf sicily. Traurc and spain, The rich silks
of INou~. the wines Uf Bordeaux, the line
linen of Belfast, the bananas, COCOanuts,
oranges and sugar Of the West Indies, the
tin of Cornwall and Malacca, the tea, cas-
sla and camphur Of Marco POlO'S Far
Cathay, the spices of Zanzibar and Cey
lon. and. in "A word. all the rich products
of the earth. And they come, for the most
part. in great steamers, compared 70
which the ships Of Syria and PhRnicia
would seem little larger than the ordinary
lighter in the harhcr If &ew York.
Under FOREIGN FLAG.
In 1885, some 600 vessels. carrying a
foreign hag. came 10 New York The
number has decreased since then, because
steamers s.c driving mt sailing craft, and
one voyage Of a good lied steamer Is equal
10 half dozen Or more Of the average
sailing vessel Mos of the vessels leaving
here for foreign ports 20 to Great Britain,
Germany. France, Italy and the West
Indies, though many 90 TO remote parts in
Asia and Africa Most of the vessels in
the foreign trade are owned abroad. For
several years ms American craft carried
grain TO foreign martS. American vessels
take considerable petroleum TO various
parts of the world, but there il this diSad
vantage in that branch Of traffic, that Il
vessel once given up 10 the petroleum trade
Is never thereafter suitable for any other
New York has always been the chief
seaport Of the United States, owing to its
magnificent harbOr and To the fact that
the Hudson river penctrates TO near
range Of mountains without falls, rapids
/ or other Obstructions to navigation. Prior
to 1900 vessels went to Europe at no
stated time, as there were no regular
lines and they sailed only when they had
secured a cargo. Passengers were thus
often obliged 10 wait many weeks for n
ship to sail The disCOmfOrts of a pas
sage TO and from England We're almost
uueudurahle DR. Johnson, the famous
English moralist aud photographer, des
Cri,ed ship as worse than prison be
| cause the accommodations were equally
unsatisfactory, while there was the add
tional danger of being shipwrecked. or
drowned At the beginning of the pres
ent century the usual size of a seawOrthy
ship was about that OF the Erie canal
boat of to-day, that is, from 100 TO l5O
tons. A vessel of 300 tons was considered
a marine monster. The passenger on the
ocean in the early part Of the century,
! moreover, ran risk unknown at the pres
ent day, namely, the danger of capture
by pirates, though this evil was then
dying out Piracy, however, was not
completely suppressed in the north Allan
tic until the second quarter of the present
( century, and the passenger on the early
! American vessels in the days Of Adams,
jefferson and Madison might see an
ominous craft bearing down upon his ship,
! run up the black flag and compel the
| peaceable trader TO surrender.
FIRST DAYS O.. STEAMERS.
~ 10 70 NaNt-